Kari K. Walters

Kari K. Walters serves as a Contract Specialist within the Department of the Air Force’s FA7014 office, where she plays a pivotal role in executing mission-critical acquisitions to sustain and modernize Air Force operational readiness. Her responsibilities include managing the full lifecycle of professional services contracts, with a focus on systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA), enterprise IT modernization, cybersecurity infrastructure, and mission analytics. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurements with the agency’s strategic priorities in technical innovation and administrative support. Walters typically handles complex, high-stakes contracts requiring specialized expertise and rigorous oversight, often involving long-term, performance-based task orders. Walters maintains strong, ongoing relationships with key contractors including SIGMATECH, INC. and Purdue University, reflecting a preference for partners with deep technical credibility and proven experience in defense-related research and consulting. Her contracting patterns indicate a reliance on established vendors capable of delivering high-fidelity engineering support, advanced analytics, and customized software solutions. These partnerships are characterized by repeat engagements and multi-year task order structures, underscoring a trust-based procurement approach grounded in technical excellence and mission alignment. While the majority of her acquisitions—90%—are conducted as full and open competitions, Walters consistently allocates 10% of her portfolio to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured but deliberate commitment to small business participation. She does not typically utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, instead favoring broad small business eligibility to encourage competitive innovation while maintaining acquisition flexibility. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541715 (R&D in physical and engineering sciences) and 621340 (therapeutic and audiological services), with significant activity also in custom computer programming (541511) and administrative management consulting (541611). This reflects a technical portfolio centered on defense-oriented research, data-driven analytics, IT modernization, and specialized professional services supporting Air Force mission systems.